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Harvard Book Store welcomes SHERYL SANDBERG and ADAM GRANT, authors of Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, as they talk about building resilience and moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks. After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. Her friend Adam, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are steps people can take to recover and even rebound. Option B combines Sandberg’s emotional insights and Grant’s eye-opening research on finding strength in the face of adversity. The authors will share what they’ve learned on helping others in crisis, developing compassion for ourselves, raising strong children, and creating resilient families, communities and workplaces. Many of these lessons can be applied to ordinary struggles, allowing us to build resilience for whatever lies ahead. They will discuss the capacity of the human spirit to persevere . . . and to rediscover joy. The evening's discussion will be moderated by DANIEL GILBERT, the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University.

Please Note

This event does not include a book signing. Books included with tickets are pre-signed editions of Option B, specially bound by the publisher. (Additional pre-signed copies will be available for purchase at the event, while supplies last.)

About Option B

From Facebook’s COO and Wharton’s top-rated professor, the #1 New York Times best-selling authors of Lean In and Originals: a powerful, inspiring, and practical book about building resilience and moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks.

After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. “I was in ‘the void,’” she writes, “a vast emptiness that fills your heart and lungs and restricts your ability to think or even breathe.” Her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are concrete steps people can take to recover and rebound from life-shattering experiences. We are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. It is a muscle that everyone can build.

Option B combines Sheryl’s personal insights with Adam’s eye-opening research on finding strength in the face of adversity. Beginning with the gut-wrenching moment when she finds her husband, Dave Goldberg, collapsed on a gym floor, Sheryl opens up her heart—and her journal—to describe the acute grief and isolation she felt in the wake of his death. But Option B goes beyond Sheryl’s loss to explore how a broad range of people have overcome hardships including illness, job loss, sexual assault, natural disasters, and the violence of war. Their stories reveal the capacity of the human spirit to persevere . . . and to rediscover joy.
Resilience comes from deep within us and from support outside us. Even after the most devastating events, it is possible to grow by finding deeper meaning and gaining greater appreciation in our lives. Option B illuminates how to help others in crisis, develop compassion for ourselves, raise strong children, and create resilient families, communities, and workplaces. Many of these lessons can be applied to everyday struggles, allowing us to brave whatever lies ahead. Two weeks after losing her husband, Sheryl was preparing for a father-child activity. “I want Dave,” she cried. Her friend replied, “Option A is not available,” and then promised to help her make the most of Option B.

We all live some form of Option B. This book will help us all make the most of it.

Praise

"Thoughtful, insightful, and compelling. Both individually and collectively, we all need to understand the power of rehabilitation, recovery, and redemption if we are to overcome adversity. This incredible book doesn’t avoid the loss and tragedy we all sometimes encounter, but it is animated by a resolve that is both inspiring and instructive." —Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative

"Option B is as hopeful as it is heartbreaking. Here are stories of sometimes unimaginable pain and loss, but also of how human beings nonetheless have the capacity to endure and even thrive. This book is not just an absorbing read. It also provides lessons that everyone needs to learn." —Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal

"Illuminating, original, and deeply inspiring, Option B is one part riveting memoir, one part heal-your-heart boot camp, one part stories of others who learned to thrive in the face of profound loss: a practical, vital contribution to the literature on loss and resilience." —Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild

Adam Grant

Adam Grant

Adam Grant is a psychologist and the New York Times best-selling author of Originals and Give and Take. As Wharton’s top-rated professor for five straight years, Adam is a leading expert on how we can find motivation and meaning, and live more generous and creative lives. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 25 most influential management thinkers and received distinguished scholarly achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation. Adam received his B.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He serves as a contributing op-ed writer for The New York Times on work and psychology.

Photo credit: Matt Albiani

Daniel Gilbert

Daniel Gilbert

Daniel Gilbert is the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching, including the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology. In 2008 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His 2007 book Stumbling on Happiness spent 6 months on the New York Times bestseller list, has being translated into 30 languages, has sold a million copies worldwide, and was awarded the Royal Society’s General Book Prize for best science book of the year. In 2010, he hosted and co-wrote the award-winning NOVA television series This Emotional Life, which was seen by more than 10 million viewers. He is a contributor to Time, The New York Times, and NPR's All Things Considered, and has been a guest on numerous television shows including The Today Show, Charlie Rose, 20/20, and The Colbert Report. His TED talks have been viewed more than 20 million times, and his first TED talk remains one of the 15 most popular of all time.

Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg is chief operating officer at Facebook and international best-selling author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Prior to Facebook, Sheryl was vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google, chief of staff for the United States Treasury Department under President Clinton, a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, and an economist with the World Bank. She received B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Harvard University. She is the founder of the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to build a more equal and resilient world through two key initiatives, LeanIn.Org, and OptionB.Org. Sheryl serves on the boards of Facebook, the Walt Disney Company, Women for Women International, ONE, and SurveyMonkey.

Tickets will also be available at Harvard Book Store and over the phone at 617-661-1515. Unless the event is sold out, any remaining tickets will be on sale at the door of the venue when doors open. Books bundled with e-tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand.

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FAQ:

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